After allowing Greensburg to score four second-half touchdowns in a 35-21 season-opening loss Friday at McKeand Stadium, Shelbyville head coach Brian Glesing had a simple breakdown of his team’s performance.
“We have to be more physical, that is one of the biggest things,” said Glesing. “We have to be more physical.
“There has to be more hard-hitting collisions for us to be successful. That is my biggest take, we have to be more physical, more aggressive, especially defensively. Defensively, we just kind of laid back and took it.”
The Pirates had two scoring drives of more than 80 yards in the second half after trailing the Golden Bears 13-6 at halftime.
“Physicality and inexperience at some positions,” continued Glesing of his assessment. “We just laid back and took it rather than going and being aggressive. We have to be more confident and play downhill defensively.”
Greensburg ran the ball 43 times out of 56 plays and amassed 433 yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Still, Shelbyville led 21-20 after a fourth-quarter Luke Jackson scoring run. Instead of talking about being overwhelmed by talent as in games past, Glesing was focused on effort plays and the right mentality to get the stops needed to seal victories.
“We have to get tougher, we have to be more physical,” said Glesing. “It’s not just one person, it’s pretty much all of our guys. We have to understand that football is a brutal contact sport. You have to have something inside you to go hit somebody.
“We’re working on it. We are so much better than last year. We have to make that next step, continue those steps and one of those is we need to be more physical.”
The Golden Bears turn their attention this week to an old rival returning to the regular-season schedule. Shelbyville and Rushville have history dating back to the South Central Conference days. The two were a mainstay on the schedule until Rushville left the Hoosier Heritage Conference more than a decade ago. The last meeting between the two teams came on Aug. 31, 2012, when Shelbyville won in overtime at Rushville, 21-20.
Both programs have struggled to find Friday night success in recent seasons. Shelbyville’s last winning season came in 2017; Rushville’s was in 2013. The two programs have combined to win two games in the last three seasons.
“This is a good football game for both of us,” said Glesing. “It comes at the right time for both teams. They have this one circled. We’ve got it circled. It comes at the right time for both teams that are hungry for a win. It’s a natural kind of rivalry we should have been playing all along.”
Shelbyville broke a 26-game losing streak in week two of the 2021 season. Rushville ended a 24-game skid last week with a 41-35 victory over Milan.
The Golden Bears are searching for their first road win since Oct. 13, 2017 – a 34-27 victory at Pendleton Heights.
To do so, Shelbyville will have to keep Rushville senior quarterback Austin Vance in check. The six-foot-four signal caller threw for 217 yards and four touchdowns in the week one victory after missing nearly all of the 2021 season with an injury.
“They have a great quarterback in Vance,” said Glesing. “They do a lot of different things offensively, give you a lot of different looks. They like to run the counter and the power. They like pulling guards and then they will throw it off of that.
“They hit some big plays against Milan and they hit some big plays in their scrimmage. We will have to be on top of our game to be successful.”
Vance is the son of new Shelbyville Central Schools Superintendent Matt Vance, who was previously the superintendent of Rush County Schools.
On the ground, Harper Miller, a 5-10 junior, ran for 131 yards on 27 attempts against Milan.
Shelbyville counters with junior quarterback Eli Chappelow, who was 5-for-11 passing against Greensburg for 89 yards and a touchdown.
“Eli was solid. He is still just a junior,” said Glesing. “We are trying to get him more confident to command the offense and do those things the quarterback needs to do.
“I think he was a little nervous last week, fumbled some snaps early. We overcame most of those. He is only going to get better with time. He is coachable. He will get better each week.”
The quartet of Axel Conover (photo) (16 rushes, 101 yards), Luke Jackson (9-77), Cael Lux (8-31) and Alex Macharia (4-22) helped the Golden Bears rack up 240 rushing yards in the loss.
Macharia (main photo) also had three receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown.
Shelbyville is on the road back-to-back weeks before returning home to McKeand Stadium on Sept. 9 to host New Castle. Glesing (photo) anticipates another large student section in attendance much like last week in the season opener.
“It’s a great job by our Student Athletic Advisory Council,” said Glesing. “Becca Hoefler (SHS girls basketball coach) and Royce Carlton (SHS baseball coach) have done a good job promoting school spirit in our school. The tailgate party, that’s what the high school experience is all about. Whether you are on the team or in the stands, you want to have fun and enjoy it. After a long, hard week of school you get to blow off some steam and have fun.”
Steve Bush photos
QUICK FACTS
Shelbyville at Rushville
Game Time: 7 p.m. at Hinshaw Stadium in Rushville, Ind.
Broadcast time: 6 p.m. pregame show live from Hinshaw Stadium with Johnny McCrory and Mark Drake on GIANT fm (96.5 fm, 106.3 fm, 1520 am) or on the GIANT fm app.
Head coaches: Brian Glesing, 1-7 in 2nd year at Shelbyville, 119-101 in 20th year overall; Isaac Sliger, 1-10 in 2nd year at Rushville.
2021 record: Shelbyville 1-6; Rushville 0-10.
Sagarin Ratings: Shelbyville, 42.3, 242nd overall, 55th in 4A; Rushville, 40.07, 255th overall, 56th in 3A.
Last meeting: Shelbyville won 21-20 in overtime on Aug. 31, 2012, in Rushville.
Around the HHC Friday: Anderson (0-1) at Pendleton Heights (0-1); Columbia City (1-0) at Class 3A, No. 14 Delta (1-0); Class 5A, No. 2 Decatur Central (1-0) at Class 4A, No. 2 New Palestine (1-0); Greensburg (1-0) at Class 4A, No. 10 Greenfield-Central (1-0); Class 4A, No. 5 Mt. Vernon (0-1) at Class 5A, No. 12 Franklin (1-0); Muncie Central (0-1) at Yorktown (1-0); Class 2A, No. 9 Triton Central (1-0) at New Castle (1-0).
